My 997S had its 4 year birthday this month and took it to the dealer for annual service in which they performed oil change and brake flush. 4 year also called for replacing tire sealant, which I did and replacing the spark plugs. My car only has 9k miles (I know...i need to take her out more) so I decided not to have them replaced. Porsche says 4 years or 40k miles so I think I'll be fine. Dealer wanted nearly $500 to replace. Thoughts?

 

Was at the dealer today and asked him same question. I'm at 4.5 yrs at 14k miles. (First owner clocked 3500 miles in nearly 4 yrs). Anyway, dealer said go by the miles, especially if u use premium gas, and that he went 56k on his C2S before replacing.

 

I'm in the same boat, bringing my car in for the 4 year major service on Monday, 2007 C2 with 27K miles. One dealer told me it "probably" didn't need it and one told me that it is a preventative measure, making sure they don't seize and end up costing a lot more for the repair.

 

I had mine done @ the 4 year 22,000 mile mark. The dealer had a coupon special & I did not want them to freeze up & I had a taste of the freeze up on one plug on my '73 Targa. The plugs looked like a 2.5 on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best). Afterwards the car ran like a champ & the idle was smooth.
My daughters Honda CRV had it's plugs changed after 8 years & 120,000 miles & they looked like a 4.0. I hated to throw them away. The Honda uses the cheapest regular gas we can find.

 

Hey guys just FYI by the "book" going off Porsche's Maintenance Checklist it does states that...

"Additional Maintenance - Replace Spark plugs. Every 40,000 miles / 60,000 km or 4 years"

 

Did mine at 5 yrs/9000 miles. They looked fine but still glad I did it. They came out easily.

 

I did have mine changed at the 4 year major maintenance (27K miles). Although they weren't toast, I'm glad I had them changed. Here are a couple of photos I took.

 

How's the DYI on the plugs on the 997.1?

 

DIY is not hard, problem there is with access on passenger side for me - i could not make my hand fit there to undo a plug. mechanic who gets car on a lift also (i think) lifts engine a bit to get more space so job becomes very easy thing to do.

a lot of things like this really need a lift, if you have space in your garage - get yourself a lift, it is just about of $2K expense and will simplify a lot of things big time if you intend to keep working on your car.

 

There's threads on this and instructions on renntech.org but the one thing I found that made the job a lot easier was dropping the mufflers. Three bolts on each, remove fender support brackets, clamps and e-z off. I know the dealer Techs 'don't remove anything' but for DIY it makes all plugs more accessible. You'll need extensions and I bought a 4" wobble extension which helped.

 

it`s not the muffler itself that blocks access, it`s solid metal bar which cannot be removed.

 

Yes the mounts are still there, but I was able to get around/through them
with the extensions. Even had enough room to actually torque them properly instead of guessing.

 

Is it advisable to change the coil packs too? I'm on original plugs and coil packs; my 997S is close to 7 years old (build date Aug. 2004) but I just have 23K miles.

I've seen them cracked from heat and age on other 'P' cars.

 

I'm bringing this back to life as I'm going to change my plugs. I'm also interested if at 73K I should replace my coil packs too.

Also, has anyone ran the one step cooler plugs from vivid racing's site? Good idea or will it possibly throw codes. I have an exhaust and a fabspeed intake tube.
Thanks!

 

The spark plug change isn't that tough to do....just take your time when doing it.I found that having the right tools(swivels,extensions and sockets) makes the job alot easier.Also,BIG handed people may have a tough time with disconnecting couple of the plugs(the ones the coil packs plug into)......these plugs are really tight to the structure of the car......but a very doable DIY!
I tried to get pictures a while back,to show the process BUT because I did it off of jack stands....there just wasn't enough room to take the picture!

As far as running a cooler plug......IMO,there is no need and I do not think you will benefit from it.As far as the coil packs.....not sure! BUT if the rubbers are OK...I think I would just re-use them!

GL and take your time,

Stacy